Chapter 10 – To Korea

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In the end, all Radiant White could find while chasing the starlight were underground tunnels scorched by explosions and the completely collapsed entrance to the research lab.

She had tried to clear away the rubble, but after realizing there was nothing but more stones beneath, she gave up, looked up at the sky, and left the site.

It wasn’t because she was afraid of vampires. A magical girl blessed by the stars would neither be corrupted nor tainted unless she desired it herself.

As long as she wasn’t subjected to mental interference such as brainwashing, a magical girl could fight until her will or the starlight within her was extinguished.

And since vampires weren’t the type of monsters that attacked the mind, she had no fear of them whatsoever.

The reason she left was because the higher-ups had ordered her to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

After all, Radiant White’s combat style often caused considerable collateral damage.

“Just who could it be, the master of that starlight…?”

After returning to the military base in Romania and reporting to headquarters, she lay sprawled on the bed in a luxurious room inside the base, imagining who the owner of that starlight might be.

Since both magical girls and monsters utilized starlight, identifying the owner based solely on it was practically impossible.

At best, she could deduce that the owner was either a high-ranking monster or another magical girl.

A magical girl could only receive a mascot—a stabilization device and companion AI—if they were discovered by the association or another magical girl.

Believing she wouldn’t find an answer on her own, White turned on the mascot app on her phone and asked,

“Pegasus, who do you think owns that starlight?”

—It’s probably a monster! No way a magical girl would suck blood, right? They wouldn’t even go near a place like that!

“Yeah… I guess? But still, what if a vampire could become a magical girl? That person I met earlier said there were vampires who hadn’t abandoned their conscience. What if a kind-hearted vampire was chosen by the stars…?”

White voiced a hopeful possibility, but her mascot, Pegasus, immediately denied it.

—I’d love for that to be true, but I don’t think so! Vampires have already made a pact with the stars. You know that those who have already made a contract with a star can’t form another with a constellation!

“Well, yeah… A magical girl can turn into a monster, but not the other way around… So, it must be a new type of monster after all.”

—Seems that way! Sorry I couldn’t be of more help, White.

“No, no, don’t apologize. The monster is the one at fault.”

Villains are meant to be defeated. That’s what a hero does.

As she recalled the words her sister used to say, her thoughts drifted back to the woman she had met earlier.

It was partly because Mina bore a strange resemblance to her sister, and partly because her circumstances were unimaginably tragic.

But more than anything, it was what Mina had said at the end that lingered in her mind.

Of course, White didn’t think Mina had said it with knowledge of her situation.

She had spoken about chasing the starlight, likely wishing for White to find its owner.

And yet, for some reason, Mina’s words had sounded as if she was telling White to find her sister.

That was obviously impossible. Someone who had traveled all the way to Romania to sell blood for hospital bills wouldn’t know anything about her circumstances.

She hadn’t even recognized White, so White decided to stop thinking about her.

She would return to Korea, help her family—who was likely still bedridden—and, if possible, help Mina as well.

She convinced herself that she wasn’t doing it because Mina looked like her sister.

“Pegasus, any news about my sister…?”

—Still nothing. No leads, no sightings. But I’ll keep searching. Just… try not to get your hopes up too much, Radiant White.

“…I understand.”

She said that, but deep down, Radiant White still believed that her sister was alive somewhere, somehow.

Because if she was a hero, she had to be.

“…Achoo! Huh, did I catch a cold?”

I sneezed suddenly while eating an in-flight meal, a chill running through my body.

“Sick? No way. Even if you’re weakened, you still have the basics covered…”

Narae dismissed the idea as ridiculous, saying that with Mina’s body, it was impossible to get sick even if she wanted to.

Well, even if I was suppressing my starlight, the dragon and vampire factors in me wouldn’t just vanish.

Even if they were dormant, they would at least prevent minor illnesses.

“Maybe you just wore too few layers? I mean, no matter how hot it is, it still gets chilly indoors or in the morning.”

It would have been nice if she had stopped at that, but instead, she went on to suggest that I was underdressed.

What part of my outfit looked thin? A moderately thick black jacket and long jeans should be on the warmer side.

Even if my T-shirt underneath was a bit short, I had zipped up the jacket all the way.

If anyone was underdressed, it was Narae. She looked like she belonged in a hospital gown, yet she was walking around in a miniskirt and just a dress shirt.

I was starting to think it was time to put her in her place.

“You’re getting a little too comfortable with me, huh?”

She lowered her voice slightly, trying to sound intimidating, but Narae just laughed and said it wasn’t scary at all.

“Oh, so you just haven’t been properly beaten yet? Want to get a taste of my fists?”

I had no idea how to throw a proper punch, but somehow, I felt like I could do it.

Maybe it was because I was some kind of magical girl—fighting felt natural to me. Even in my human form, I figured I could hold my own.

At my threat, Narae started whining and backing down.

“Sigh… How did my life end up like this…?”

“Well, maybe it’s divine punishment for working in a place like that. Should’ve lived a good life.”

“There’s no such thing as divine punishment… There’s no god in this world.”

Muttering that, Narae suddenly looked uncertain and then asked,

“Mina…? Uh, it’s not a big deal, but why do you talk normally now?”

Was this girl insane? Did she expect me to speak formally to her?

She was really asking to get punched.

I clenched my fist silently, but Narae quickly begged me to let her finish.

“I mean, before, you spoke like some ancient noble or king or something. Why do you talk normally now?”

Oh, that.

“…Good question.”

“You don’t know?”

“Nope.”

“What?!”

Narae looked at me like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but I really didn’t know. Why did I put on such an arrogant act when I was in my monster form?

…Now that I thought about it, the difference between my monster form and my human form was huge.

As a human, I had to eat, sleep, and take care of other biological needs. As a monster? As long as I drank blood regularly, I was fine.

Also, in my monster form, the thought of lying didn’t even cross my mind, whereas in my human form, lies slipped out of my mouth almost automatically.

The way I spoke, the way my mind felt clearer and less influenced by external voices—it all changed.

…Did that mean that when I became a monster, I was more affected by something else?

The thought made me feel a little uneasy about transforming.

Not that I would stop using it. I’d just have to be more careful.

Just like how I made a conscious effort to drink blood regularly but avoided sinking my fangs directly into someone’s neck, I should be able to control this with enough willpower.

…Probably.

“Forget that. Shut up and listen, Narae. Do you want to develop a chronic illness?”

“…What the hell are you talking about?”

Narae looked horrified at my sudden question, so I checked our surroundings before quietly explaining the situation to her.

“…Mina? Do you really have to do this? It’s all a lie anyway. And why are you trying to get involved with Radiant White? You don’t even have your memories.”

Even though she looked utterly disgusted, she couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

I couldn’t exactly tell her that I wanted to fight them to gain real combat experience, so I hesitated for a moment before coming up with an excuse.

“I want to learn about myself. That guy was my sister, right? If I stay close to her, maybe something will come back to me.”

“…Yeah, sure, whatever. Ugh, just to check—there’s no chance you’re letting me go, right?”

I answered, of course not.

At first, I took her with me just to keep my promise not to kill her. But the longer I kept her around, the more useful she turned out to be.

So, I planned to keep using her until she either died or became useless.

“…My life is so screwed.”

“Well, who knows? Maybe I’ll let you go someday.”

As I teased Narae, I heard the pilot announce that we were about to land in Korea.

So we were really here. The place where everything would happen. The land of crosses and garlic.

Even if it wasn’t the Korea I knew, the fact that it was still Korea gave me a thrill.

But more than anything, I was most excited about meeting the protagonist.

Who wouldn’t be excited to see their favorite character come to life?

As for the minor issue of not having any money, I could figure that out after landing.

…Oh, right. It would’ve been rude to leave without a word, so I left a note in the basement for that elder-whatever Illyein or whoever.

That guy could read English, right?

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